That's Just a Myth
by usernamealwaystaken
Summary: Mythical Creature AU. For Xiang, each day was more or less the same routine. The only variety he was offered was the ability to skip a few classes. It wasn't until some new family moved in to the house down the street. They seemed normal enough, but were was something about them that was off. Especially that white-haired kid...
1. Time For Giving Up the Ghost

**Xiang – Hong Kong**

**Cheng – Macau**

**Mei – Taiwan**

If you want your favorite song to be ruined for the rest of your life, set it as your alarm.

That was the only coherent thought that came to Xiang's mind as the alarm he had set on his phone went off. No doubt that he still liked Ghost by Mystery Skulls, but after being forced awake by its melody, it just lost its luster. I guess you could say, it was a ghost of its former self. Yep. Pun game still strong. All jokes aside, he took a mental note to change it to just a regular alarm again, so that no more of his favorite songs suffered such a fate.

He rolled out of bed and made his way to the door. Just like clockwork, the rest of his family, sans his oldest brother, appeared at their respective doors. His cousins – Mei, Yong Soo, Kiku and Cheng – all lived together in the same house. Yeah, it seemed a bit crowded at times, but it was nice having them all around sometimes. Unlike right now. Mei, Xiang, and Yong Soo all exchanged glances, then turned their attentions to the bathroom. Like rockets, the three of them bounded towards the bathroom, all needing an exceptional amount of time to get themselves ready.

Unluckily for the two boys, Mei got to the sanctuary first, with a successful slam of the door. Great, they just expended energy they hardly even had in vain. Whilst Yong Soo whined and collapsed on the floor and Xiang slumped onto the floor, Cheng and Kiku calmly made their way downstairs for breakfast.

Yao, the oldest of all of them, had almost not heard them come downstairs, as he was already making breakfast for all of them. "Ah, good morning you two. Where are the others?" he greeted, just like any normal morning. Of course he already knew where the others were, it was just so routine to ask, he felt obligated to.

"Mei got the bathroom today." They said in unison.

"That's the third time this week." Yao said. He was so focused on whatever was on the stove that his sleeve nearly caught fire. He muttered a small 'aiyah' underneath his breath.

"Yao, you must not keep overworking yourself like this everyday. We can cook for ourselves." Cheng spoke up.

"Hai, you should rest sometime."

"Oh please, you act like I'm some kind of old man." Yao laughed, frantically tending to the myriad of breakfast foods cooking in front of him. He set down two plates of food for them and return to the stove to finish off the rest of the food. "Xiang, Mei, Yong Soo! Get down here, you'll be late to school!" he yelled.

Xiang and Yong Soo trudged down the stairs, looking like they had been trampled by a herd of wildebeest. Mei, on the other hand, looked like a she belonged in a commercial, or a Disney princess movie. An undeniably smug smirk came to her lips as she side-eyed them both and walked in slow motion. The two disgruntled faces of her cousins stared back at her. She and Yong Soo took a seat at the table.

Xiang didn't even bother. This definitely wasn't a good start to the day. He didn't want to get suffocated by his family's morning chatter or Mei's smug smog. He just took his breakfast, mumbled a quick 'thank you' and headed out. He wouldn't have cared much about getting to school on time if Yao wasn't getting on his ass about his attendance. Sure he skipped a few classed here and there, but it's not like that shitty school was teaching him anything anyway.

On his way to school, he passed by the old rickety house that was abandoned up until around 8 years ago, around the same time Yao had moved in with them from China. It was amazing that anyone was crazy enough to call that dump home. As a child, he and his cousins would explore that house for fun. He had memorized every hole in the floor, every spider web, and every crack in the wall. But no abandoned house would be complete without a ghost.

"_Hey guys, wait up!" Young Mei called out._

"_Hurry up, or the ghost boy'll getcha!" Yong Soo called back._

_Xiang and Yong Soo navigated through the ground floor while Mei caught up. Xiang hated how dark it was once the front door was closed. He shivered, but tried to play it off as just the draft coming from the broken windows making him cold. He flinched when he heard the crackle of the autumn leaves that happened to have made their way in through said windows. His annoying older cousin saw this and smirked._

"_Aw, what is it shorty," he said patting the younger boy's head "you scared of the ghost?"_

"_Pfft, no way." Xiang lied and slapped Yong Soo's hand off his head. "Let's split up. I'll take upstairs. You and Mei stay here." He ventured further ahead just to get some relief from his cousins' useless chattering. Unfortunately for him, that meant being alone in the cold, dark bedrooms of the upstairs, furthest from the door. His shuddering only increased with the creepy ambiance of the creaky floorboards, each deafening squeak increasing in pitch like the screams of the ghosts begrudgingly roaming the world of the living, searching for an exit to the hellish limbo they find themselves in. The winds howled and the curtains billowed. A skinny branch tapped on the side of the house and rain droplets pounded the roof, creating an ominous knocking sound. But it wasn't until a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder did Xiang find himself scrambling to find the nearest hiding place._

_After a little while of cowering, Xiang decided that it would be best to venture back downstairs. With a deep breath, he began to take tentative steps downstairs. All of a sudden, a white blur darted across the ground floor, blowing leaves and dust in its wake. Xiang screamed and jumped back, attempting to get back upstairs. _

_Echoing from behind him were the shouts of his cousins. He could barely make out what they were saying. _

"_Let me go…!"_

"_No…! I …n't wanna…" _

_Those last sentences ran through his mind as he maneuvered his way through the different bedrooms and into a closet placed way into the corner. He attempted to calm his breathing. Even though he'd never actually watched a horror movie – Cheng said he was too young and would get scared - he was smart enough to know that he shouldn't be making noise. His attempts to go completely still was aided by the fear brought about by loud footsteps heading straight for his hiding place. Xiang closed his eyes and wished for the monster to go away._

_His wishes would not be answered._

_The closet door slowly creaked open and Xiang froze. 'Like, try to make a run for it!' he told himself, but his feet wouldn't listen. The only movement he dared to make was to tightly clench his fists and brace himself for the worst._

"_Xiang. Come on, the new family is coming to start moving in here." Said the new voice._

_Relief washed over Xiang as he looked up and saw Cheng. Behind him was Yong Soo and Mei struggling to get free from Kiku, who seemed less than thrilled that he was stuck handling the rowdy little kids. Xiang allowed himself to calm down completely and left the "haunted house" behind._

With his reminiscence coming to a close, Xiang finally brought himself out of his trance. He had been staring at the one house for God knows how long. He might've just stared at it forever, if he hadn't seen the ghost boy looking out at him.


	2. All Will Be Revealed

Xiang didn't bother to hang around long enough for the other boy to react. He just walked past, quickening his pace and headed to class. There's no way that ghosts were real, right? It's just some stupid story he believed when he was 7 years old. The now 15 year old boy just shook his head and decided to forget about all that ghost boy nonsense. If Yong Soo found out he still believed in that garbage, he would annoy him to no end. More than he already does anyway.

Of course, that whole scene that had replayed in his mind made him late for class. Xiang walked into the classroom and slumped down in his chair at the back of the classroom. Time for another period of passive aggressive "well if you had been here on time" comments from his teacher. The only thing that would brighten his day would be the presence of his friend, Lili. Rich, but not stuck up, she wouldn't hesitate to help out with pulling a few pranks, as long as her brother didn't find out about them.

Xiang just put his head down on the table. He contemplated talking to Lili about what happened, but what would he say? Some ghost boy has been haunting him since he was just a kid? The biochemistry work on the board didn't matter. He felt like all his energy was just siphoned out of him. Taking a good nap was probably the only good thing that would come out of this morning. That is, until he heard the seat next to him being taken. As he looked up, of course it was none other than the damn ghost. It was already a few months into the school year, but he apparently decided to come today of all days. Instead of going back to sleep, Xiang decided to investigate.

He looked like death, no pun intended. He had snowy white hair and pale skin to match, but violet eyes with subtle bags underneath. It's like he's the personification of when you're too tired to sleep. He fidgeted with his gloves. Why did he even have them on inside anyway? All of a sudden he glances over at the other boy. Xiang quickly averts his eyes to make it look like he wasn't just staring him down.

Lile finally spoke up. "You checking out the new guy?"

Xiang only glared. "Don't say it like that. I sounds wrong."

"It _sounds_ to me like _someone_ wants to meet me in detention. Again. Isn't that right Mr. Xiang Wang? Sit up straight and pay attention when I'm teaching."

He didn't even bother to give a verbal response. He merely propped his head up on his behemoth of a textbook and held his pen over his paper to make it look like he was taking notes. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the ghost boy – he should really figure out his name – snickering. At him! Normally, he would just leave it alone, but he was in a terrible mood today and it was mostly this kid's fault. What's he even doing here? He tried not to openly stare at the white haired apparition next to him. No, wait. Lili could see him. He probably wasn't even being haunted right now. Just his dumb memories playing tricks on him. He decided to test whether or not this kid was actually a ghost. It will ensure him a stay in detention, but it's not like he wasn't getting that anyway.

Xiang balled up his "notes" and waited for the right moment to strike. The bell rang and everyone gathered up their stuff, including ghost boy. With perfect accuracy, he landed a direct hit to the back of his head with the wad of paper. The paper bounced right off his head and to the floor. Well, it didn't just phase through him, which was evidence enough that this kid wasn't the real deal.

The kid stopped in his tracks and balled his fists. He took a deep breath and continued out of the room. Now Xiang felt kind of bad about throwing that ball of paper at him, especially now that he know that kid wasn't trying to haunt him. He looked back at Lili, who was shaking her head at him.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

"Like, don't even worry about it." Xiang said, trying to catch up to the boy.

He scanned the crowd for the boy. Finding him wasn't hard, thanks to his oddly colored hair. Xiang was about to call out to him. That is, until he faded from his view. Like, literally faded away. Ok, now Xiang was certain. This kid really _was_ a ghost.

Finally, the school day was over. After his first day of school and people talking behind his back about being some kind of ghost, the white haired boy was just happy to be back in his own home. He entered his, house, which his brother had single handedly transformed from a ratty abandoned dump to a decent place to live. It's not like it was anything incredible. He was a wizard after all.

"Welcome home, Emil." Said the all too familiar voice of said brother. Emil didn't even notice him in the corner, reading a book as always. Just like himself, his brother sported a pair of tired eyes, though his were more defined. And he actually had a good reason for having them. "Judging by the fact that I felt a lull in my magic, I guess your day didn't go so well."

Emil just sighed. "Lukas, I-"

"Was it an emergency?"

"Uh… no. Not really."

"Do you know why I allow you to use your powers at your own discretion? Because I trust that you know when to use them _only in emergencies_." Lukas said, turning to go upstairs.

Emil didn't even bother to retort. His brother got pretty unbearable during the week. He's been awake for several days since he needs to keep up the magic disguise that made everyone affected look and feel human. If anyone were to find out what they were, only trouble could follow. Lukas and the house in general often reeked of coffee for that reason. If he feel asleep and a human saw one of them without their disguise… well, you know.

"And by the way, try not looking like a ghost when you're going outside. It'll give us all away." Lukas called from upstairs.

Emil looked at his phone. It was only Wednesday. Three more days dealing with the sarcastic drama king himself. Finally feeling the swarm of negative thoughts dissipate, Emil freed himself from his limiting human disguise and became a full-fledged ghost. Glad to finally be levitating and intangible, he floated up to his room to forget about school, especially that rude short kid from first period.


	3. Sitting in the Park Under the Moonlight

Emil hovered lazily above the couch, absent-mindedly watching TV. Since he's terrible at hiding the fact he's dead when he goes outside, even with his brother's magic, he often stayed inside as much as possible. This meant he didn't have many friends, but with the way everyone treated him at school earlier today, he doubted that would happen any time soon. The only other thing he could do was homework. He sighed, annoyed at his lack of options and started to wander up to his room. He was startled back into his human disguise when he heard the slamming of the front door.

"Yo, Em! Your favorite big brother's back!" the intruding voice yelled out.

Emil just huffed and resumed ghost form when he recognized the voice. He turned around and received yet another shock. Standing in the doorway was a tall humanoid-dog creature. His blond fur shined in the light of the full moon. The werewolf smiled a toothy smile as it tugged on its red tie, which hardly matched the suit he wore that day.

"Had a rough day at work today, so I decided to just let my fur fly on the way home."

Emil floated over and quickly ushered him inside. He closed all the curtains and slammed the door. After he collected himself, he turned and glared at his self-proclaimed "brother".

"Mathias, are you crazy?! What if someone saw you?" he exclaimed.

"Aw, c'mon Em, live a little. I made sure to walk in the non-crowded areas." He said whilst looking at himself in the mirror. The sight of a werewolf in a suit looked pretty funny to him. Almost as funny as telling a ghost to live a little. Mathias ran up the stairs on all fours. Likely to bother Lukas again.

Knowing of the chaos to come once Mathias reaches his brother's room, Emil decided to go out. Using his invisibility – personally his favorite thing about being a ghost – he floated right through the door. After all, his entire family is preoccupied with something else at the moment. He was often left out of things, but at times like this, he didn't mind.

The light of the full moon greeted him as he exited his house. '_No stars'_ he noted. The Icelandic teen had never really gotten used to looking up and not seeing a whole galaxy of stars above him since he moved here. He recalled spending his nights stargazing with his brother. The memory put a small smile on his face. Unfortunately, that smile disappeared when he heard the telltale howl of his werewolf cousin. He ran right through him, again on all fours, then hobbled right back over. His walk was awkward since he was meant to walk on two legs, but walking on four was necessary when outside for obvious reasons. The leash that adorned his neck was also necessary. No one wanted a repeat of the time he was taken to the pound. It was a real hassle trying to get him out of there before he changed back into a human.

Of course Emil was stuck with walking him. He always was. With a sigh, Emil floated aimlessly, knowing full well that the Dane would just annoy him if he stayed still for too long. Despite this, he couldn't help but want to do exactly that. Don't get him wrong, it's not like he hated him, he was just hoping to get some time to himself after the shitty day he just had. Which is exactly why he did nothing when Mathias ran ahead of him. He kept well enough behind him to see where he was.

And to see him knock some poor kid off his feet.

Stifling a laugh, Emil floated over to see what was going on. He got there just in time to see whoever Mathias knocked down give him a swift punch to the nose. It was then that Emil decided to show himself. Hoping that no one saw him materialize from nowhere, Emil pulled Mathias off him so that the situation wouldn't escalate further. Once Mathias was off, he mentally rolled his eyes at who he saw.

"Like, is that dog yours?" Li Xiao said. He was noticeably glancing at Mathias ever so often nervously, but he tried to keep his facial expression composed.

"It might be." Emil said passively. He saw this whole situation as payback for throwing things on him at school earlier. Then, as if he read his mind, the other boy spoke.

"Look, I'm really sorry about earlier today. I was having a pretty weird morning."

"Hm. That's hardly any excuse for throwing things at me when I didn't even do anything to you."

"It was really only one thing." Li Xiao whispered under his breath.

"Whatever." Emil said, trying to lead Mathias in the other direction. He wouldn't budge. The werewolf sat right there, looking between the two boys. Then he smiled the smuggest grin a canine could, much to the confusion of the Icelander. The Dane then grabbed Li Xiao's sleeve with his mouth and ran, dragging Emil behind him by the leash. He ignored their pleas for him to stop and carried them all the way to a nearby park.

Ok, this was too much. All Emil wanted to do was to go for a walk _alone_. Now he was stuck at a park with a werewolf and some annoying kid from class. He slumped down on a bench with a defeated sigh, hoping that kid would just get lost. But of course, he was never so lucky. Whenever he did try to leave, Mathias would usher him back to the same spot until he took a seat as well on the opposite side of the bench. Emil guessed this was another one of his family's "Get Emil a Friend" missions, and Mathias couldn't have picked a worse "friend". All they would do is just sit in awkward silence until Mathias gave up.

It goes without saying that both teens were uncomfortable with speaking to each other. Emil was openly glaring at Mathias, but the other kid was just glancing at him every once in a while. He figured that maybe he was making them uncomfortable, so he sauntered off so that they can converse in peace. After all, no kid wants to talk with their friends when family is around, or an intimidating giant dog in Li Xiao's case.

"Y'know, I just came out here so I could get some time to myself. I didn't expect to, like, get dragged out here by some giant dog." Li Xiao finally said.

"Same. Having a family like mine can get annoying." Emil replied.

"Yeah. It's kind of endearing though."

"Yeah, I don't hate them or anything. It is kinda nice having them around. But my brother Lukas and my cousin Mathias were being particularly annoying today."

"What about your dog?"

Emil was confused about this. "You mean Mathias?"

Now it was Li Xiao's turn to be confused. "Your cousin and dog have the same name?"

Well, shit. Not only was he terrible at hiding himself as a ghost, he was terrible at hiding everyone else. He should just shut up. But not right now. Now he needed to clear things up before he became even more suspicious than he already was.

"Um, I meant to say, uh" he took a few seconds to think, "Magnus. Magnus is my dog's name."

The other boy merely cocked a thick eyebrow at him in response. Emil couldn't bring himself to look at him. The embarrassment was probably written all over his face. He covered his face with his hands when he felt Li Xiao still staring at him. Then he heard a slight chuckle.

"Well it's getting pretty late. I'd better head home. Have fun walking "Magnus"." Li Xiao said, emphasizing the air quotes around Magnus.

"My name's Li Xiao by the way."

Emil just sat there with his hand still covering his face. He didn't acknowledge Li Xiao walking off, nor did he acknowledge Mathias trotting back to him. He just got up, took the leash, and started to walk back home in silence.

"So how'd it go?" Mathias asked.

Emil sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "As long as you look like that, your name is Magnus."


End file.
